Hospital waits to buy equipment
Though patient traffic has increased, Med Center delays purchasing
By Rachel Makabi
Daily Bruin Reporter
As UCLA Medical Center officials wait to move into the new facility in 2005, they have delayed making large equipment purchases, despite increases in patient traffic over the past five years.
Chief financial officer for the Medical Center, Sergio Melgar, said they are still purchasing “essential” equipment such as operating room equipment, and the lull in purchases has not affected patient care.
“It doesn’t make sense to be spending a lot of money on system equipment that won’t fit in the new hospital, either because there isn’t enough space or because they can’t be moved,” Melgar said.
Since 1998, outpatient visits to the hospital have increased 186,000 but this year, the hospital spent about $10 million less toward equipment purchases than it did then.
Melgar said purchase costs fluctuate from year to year, noting that a spike in funding in 1999 was used toward large purchases to offset increases in patient traffic.
Melgar added that the hospital is continually replacing equipment that is broken and that all the equipment at the hospital is already of the highest quality – and has not affected UCLA’s rank in U.S. News & World Report as the best hospital in the western United States.
The hospital has taken increases in outpatient traffic into account and have made necessary budget adjustments to retain quality, he said.
“If we need to make large purchases, we have the funds in place to do so,” Melgar said.
The hospital has sufficient funding to make purchases now, Melgar said, adding that the hospital expects surplus donations for the new hospital though a fickle economy can change that.
Dr. Jimmy Huang of Radiology, said that even in his technology intensive area, he hasn’t noticed any equipment shortage or lack of upgrading. Other doctors approached declined to comment.
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